More Plant-Based, Less Animal-Based Diet Linked to 18% Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Every step toward a more plant-based diet counts: each 10-point rise on a plant-based diet score was linked to an 18% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, along with lower insulin resistance, in a study of 6,798 Dutch adults.

Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam used data from the Rotterdam Study, a long-running cohort with an average age of 63. The index, scored from 0 to 92, rewards plant foods and penalizes animal foods. Over a median 7.3 years there were 642 new cases of type 2 diabetes. The study is published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

Part of the benefit came through lower body weight: after adjusting for BMI the link was 13% lower risk per 10 points, and it remained significant. The authors write:

These findings strengthen recent dietary recommendations to adopt a more plant-based diet.

Because the index is a sliding scale, the message is encouraging for anyone starting out. You don't have to change everything overnight, and each extra plate of beans, veg or whole grains moves you in the right direction.

It follows the Taiwanese study that linked vegetarian diets to a 35% lower diabetes risk, and the endocrinologists' recommendation of a plant-based diet.

Small swaps, big rewards!